A Week In Laos (31st Oct-7th Nov 2005) Chiang Khong Chiang Khong is the border crossing we used between Northern Thailand and Laos. Got a bus/minivan to the border from Chiang Mai. Buses won't leave Chiang Mai until lunchtime and you get to the border at 6.30pm. The border closes at 6pm! How convenient! We could only see the lights of Laos across the water and would cross the border in the morning. Slow Boat (2 days on the Mekong River) Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang We chose the 2 day, slow boat option along the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. [View Full Entry]

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Not content to sit on a bus like everyone else, we swapped bus seat for moped (and later elephant) for our 5-day 'tour' of Southern Laos. Our first stop was Wat Phou, Champasak, followed by a 100km journey south to a place called Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands). Two westerners on a moped caused much curiosity amongst the locals and we spent most of the journey waving to people. Crossing the Mekong with the bike was a whole different game in itself! [View Full Entry]

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We drive through the extremely thick smog and pollution. This was our last look at Hanoi and it's a relief. I didn't mind Hanoi but the pollution and the chaos was getting too much. Thinking back to how I had to scrub the filth from my feet just from walking around, I was somewhat glad to be leaving. Arriving at the airport an hour before our plane leaves usually would raise some anxiety but 10 mins we are through customs and begin killing time. After an extremely short flight and hassle free customs we are in Laos. The "bible" claims Vientiane [View Full Entry]

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4000 Islands One of the first thing I noticed about Laos is the pace of life and the people. The guys stamping the passports were chilling out wearing t-shirts and shorts (Actually one wasn't even bothering with the T-shirt thing). Once we got past the entry point everyone seemed to chilling out or playing Tackro (kinda like volley ball but without using your hands or arms, it should also be noted that this is the most energetic thing I saw in all of Laos). We jumped into our transort, a converted flat bed truck with a roof but open sides and [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, Commin to you loud and clear from Laos, and what a difference from Vietnam. Cam and I keep saying "what the hell were we doing in Vienam". Seriously, Laos is so beautiful, so layed back, so peaceful and we have only been here two days. Before leaving Vietnam, I shipped 20 kilos of items back to Australia from Hanoi on Thursday as my backpack was at breaking point. (will take 3 months unfortuantly tho) Got a great shot of the traffic in Hanoi, see timelapse shot.. Was a quick flight yesterday morning from Nam, only 50 mins from Hanoi [View Full Entry]

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We were soooo glad to finally arrive in Luang Prabang after the worst ten hours of our lives. The bus journey was pretty bumpy and I spent 9 of the ten hours with my head stuck in a bag, and Andrew, unusually, was quite ill as well. So with that experience behind us we decided to spend a couple of days lazing around in Luang Prabang before starting to see the sights. We had also decided to fly back to Vientiane before flying to Hanoi instead of the bus again, phew! This small town has become quite touristy, although still has [View Full Entry]

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- FOOD: Cheap, good and filling meal at bus stop; crocodile (tastes like pork); Lao lao shot (tasted like tequila); popular Indian (I can see why); our local - Sabaidee restaurant with fab tuna sandwiches and pad thai. - AREA: Much nicer bus back for just an extra dollar; quiet riverfront now the boat festival is over; cafes crammed with tourists; backpack pain (how I've grown to hate it); ripped travel trouser pain; Lao songs that I recognise. - PEOPLE: Nice tuk-tuk man; better bus driver; sweet bargainers; shouting but harmless people. - ACCOM: Hotel Bougnasouk again but this time a [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Kuala Lumpur and spent a few days climbing tall buildings and eating hot Malaysian food, courtesy of Simon's Malaysian friend, William, before flying up to Bangkok. I have to admit I was quite worried in advance about Bangkok being 'too much', but we surprised ourselves by actually really liking it! We didn't have long there though, just enough time to sort out a few visas before bus-ing it to a small town in eastern Thailand called Ubon Ratchatani. It turns out that hardly anyone goes there as it is not a typical route into Laos and we turned [View Full Entry]

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- FOOD: Pumpkin soup; steamed fish in Gaza leaf and fish curry (sadly far too many bones and overrun with aniseed tasting herb; river weeds (a must - they are so nice); pink drink - AREA: Tiny village - the most basic and stunning I've stayed in with steep mountains and vegetation forming the backdrop - the perfect chill out spot; breaking down bus; wake up chorus of screeching cockerals, babies and pigs; Tham Pha Thok limestone caves ; dirt road lined with palm trees as the highway; tiny waterfall; SNAKE in the wild; cockfighting; beautiful 6 hour boat journey and [View Full Entry]

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So we're one hour from China, a short flight from Kunming yet it feels like we've travelled a million miles from our last stop. Although we've only been here for two days I can honestly say that I've never met nicer people in a more tranquil and beautiful setting, and we're in the capital city - this is meant to be the worst part of the country! Laos is known as the country of a million elephants and has the unfortunate tag of being the most bombed country is the history of warfare. It is part of the Ho Chi Minh [View Full Entry]

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